Tower installation crews face rewards and risks with incentive auction

While it's certainly not safe and easy work, the dwindling band of installation pros capable of hoisting 20,000-pound antenna's onto 2,000-foot towers could be in line for steady flow of gigs. 

The FCC is nearing the March 29 start date for its 600 MHz incentive auctions of TV broadcasters' spectrum.

A recent Digital Tech Consulting study, commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), suggests that 800 to 1,200 stations will need new antennas and RF equipment after they move to new channels following the auctions. That channel repacking process means lots of work for tower crews and equipment manufacturers, a workload that hasn't been seen since the digital TV transition in 2009.

You can read all about this boon for tower installers in this latest FieceInstaller special report.